Catching up...

Because we took so long to set up our blog, we feel we should dedicate a post to updating everyone about our first month (plus a week or two) that we've been here.
Well. we got here safely, just in case anyone was wondering...After getting off the plane, we were greeted by a newly established( 2 days prior to our arrival) $130 dollar fee to Americans entering the country...granted we won't have to pay this fee for another 10 years, and it's to even out the absurb costs Argentinians need to pay if they are lucky enough to get a Visa into the US...but STILL. Anyways, we were picked up at the airport by a lovely man named Angel who led us outside into the beautiful warm sunny summer day and drove us to Bayres, the bed and breakfast we stayed at for our first week.

Something we found out our first day here: People in Argentina do not like to work...they like to take long lunch breaks and never return to their businesses.They also sometimes don't like to open their stores on the weekends, or on Mondays, if they don't feel like working that day. You have to find this out by showing up and reading the "cerrado" sign on the door with the obviously wrong hours listed below it.

Skip to New Year's Eve--- Carlos, the owner of the b&b invited us to a New Year's Eve dinner that he was hosting for all of his tenants. At the dinner, where we were only able to eat lettuce garnish, fried potatos, ketchup and rolls we met people from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Finland etc. Everyone was drinking wine and having conversations in spite of the fact that there were 4 different languages being spoken. We watched fireworks from a balcony: both in the distance and ones being lit 10 feet below us by some children on the street. At 2am, we watched the ball drop in NYC and started making plans to go out to a club, which doesn't open till 2:30 and doesn't get going till 3:30 or 4....we were very tired.

But we made it! To 6 am! And then we walked home in the daylight and went to bed until 3pm.


So, Carlos, the owner of the B&B and the most adorable little french bulldog named Fidel, yes after Castro, no he's not a dictator, offered to rent us an extra room in his apartment a few doors down from the B&B in a neighborhood called Palermo Hollywood. After realizing it would take a while to find an apartment on our own, we said YES! We've been in the same apartment since then, and live next to two Colombian boys, Sam and Nauhel who we met that night at New Years. and we love them.

We have a beautiful roof deck, air conditioning, we are within walking distance to everything we would need, a puppy who gives so many kisses and sometimes Fidel's papa, Bamboo comes to visit, AND we live with two of our best friends here who help us practice Spanish all we want...so we are in no rush to leave.

We got our TEFL certifications after 1 month of classes, where we met a lot of really great people who we still see and make sushi and crafts with. We are currently looking for jobs in a language institute of which there are many in Buenos Aires, so hopefully something will come along soon.

We are in our second week of Spanish classes now from 9-1 5 days a week and we frequent a asian inspired vegetarian restaurant just 2 blocks from our school just about every day:)

Thing we love.
-sunshine
-80 degree weather
-vegetarian tenedor libres (buffet)
-our new friends
-learning spanish
-Fidel(ito)
-our roof
-cute little cafes & restaurants everywhere
-art ferias

Things we need to get used to
-dog poop EVERYWHERE
-broken sidewalks
-people looking at us funny when we ask about iced coffee but will offer you ice with your wine
-las cucharachas
-the Argentinean accent
-nights that end at 6am
-people refusing to give you moneda -change( apparently there is a shortage)

So that's pretty much an update up until now. Later posts will be more specific and will include pictures!

Besitos